Butt in a butt: S. Jersey man allegedly hid gun in his anal cavity

A SOUTH JERSEY man was nearly No. 2 with a bullet during his incarceration Friday, police said yesterday.

Darquan Lee, 21, pulled a loaded and cocked .25-caliber handgun out of his "anal cavity" during a strip-search inside the Cumberland County Jail, according to the Bridgeton Police Department, whose officers initially took Lee into custody.

"We've had handguns hidden before," Bridgeton Police Lt. Thomas Speranza told the Daily News, "but never anything quite like this.

"It's a good lesson for our younger guys: You can miss something even with a pat-down."

One thing the officers didn't miss was Lee's allegedly suspicious behavior after he was picked up on a contempt-of-court warrant in his native Bridgeton.

When he was taken to the station - a place that court records show he's visited plenty of times before - Lee asked to use the bathroom, police said.

He quickly changed his mind when he was told that the facilities would be searched both before and after he was done with his business.

Suddenly Lee, who just moments before was desperate to relieve his bowels, "refused to use the bathroom," police said.

This waffling baffled police, who began to suspect that Lee was hiding something.

"We thought he had drugs on him," Speranza said. "We had no idea."

Wary of their suspect's intentions, the Bridgeton officers radioed a warning ahead to the staff at the county jail.

Once Lee arrived there, the jail's officers ordered a strip-search. During the search, they asked the disrobed Lee to squat, Speranza said.

And then, from "between his butt cheeks," Lee produced a tiny, palm-size semiautomatic handgun.

Suddenly, contempt of court was the least of the 21-year-old's worries.

He was booked on charges of firearms violations and receiving stolen property: The well-hidden weapon had been reported stolen in Alabama, according to police.

Lee didn't tell police why he went through the trouble of holstering the gun in the most uncomfortable way imaginable. But, given his criminal history, he apparently likes to take risks.

He has been arrested numerous times on a variety of charges, including criminal trespassing and failure to appear in court.

Lee was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April 2011 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm, court records show. He was released early.

About two years later, he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice stemming from a January 2013 incident and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Days after his sentencing in that case, Lee was charged with robbing the Bridgeton Deli at gunpoint, according to news reports.

The victims of that robbery told police that two gunmen had forced them to the floor and had made off with $250 and 20 packs of Newport cigarettes, according to NJ.com.

It's unclear how the robbery case was resolved, according to Lee's court records.

He remained in custody without bail last night at the Cumberland County Jail, where he was expected to be allowed use of the men's room.